Background Story
by Jawira707
Summary: Future fic! Max Thunderman, a well known supervillain, finally found his place in this world...but is everything what it seems to be? Find out what secrets the family is keeping and what really happened on this very special day about 10 years ago...Let the journey begin.
1. Daddy, can I ask you something?

Hey Thunderman fandom! Dear readers! I wann wish you a Merry Christmas and hope you enjoy my new story...or the first chapter of it =). This is my very first story were also my own characters appear...so it's exciting. I hope you have fun reading this and it would make me happy if you would leave a review, especially about how you think the story will develop or what you think about the possible universe presented in here. I post this now, before in 2016 it might not me a possible canon anymore and because I couldn't wait. Here it comes =)..so behold, my new fanfic:

 **Background Story**

Chapter 1: Daddy, can I ask you something?

„Open the gates!"

The voice of Max Thunderman was reflected by the big stony wall which was surrounding his residency and soon his order was accomplished, the wooden doors making a high squeaking noise as they gave free the entrance was filled with portrays of some famous villains, but also rock bands …or paintings of his children. The mirrors everywhere made it look much more spacious than it actually was, illuminated by candle light and dark curtains on the windows.

„Oh there it is!"

Max smiled widely and crossed the room where one of his servants was already waiting for him.

„Master…" he bowed to him quickly before he continued his speech. „I'm glad you came back from…whatever master Thunderman was doing, sir."

„Well, always busy, you know how it is Peter. Being a supervillain isn't easy these days, but I think you wanted to show me something?"

„Yes, sir."

And carefully he removed a black tarpaulin from a new object next to the staircase. „It's your piano, master."

„Yes! Finally!" Maximus let himself fall on the chair next the instrument admiring it with proudness.

„Now I will show Dark Mayhem's son who of us has a lame lair „without any atmosphere…" he imitated said man's nasal voice while quoting him „…my hall is fantastic, thanks to my wife even hundredth per cent eco-friendly and the next time he comes to visit, I will just sit here, playing my music…my evil music, waiting for him to approach me if he dares to…"

Peter nodded now and then in agreement, happy to see his boss content.

"Just one thing is bothering me."

Okay, nearly content.

"Why does it look so new?"

His servant had a hard time not to roll his eyes at him.

"Because it…well, _is_ new Mr. Thunderman."

For a moment Max just stared at the piano, a frown appearing on his forehead as he was deep in thought. Eventually he shrugged his shoulders.

"Well…with a little glue, some of the fake cobwebs and a bit of dust we can fix this. Note to the whole family: No one cleans my piano!"

"I don't think your children would, sir."

Max had to smile at his comment. "I know, but …Mrs. Thunderman…"

Slowly he got up, signing as he observed the staircase.

"What's the matter, master?"

"Nothing…I just don't look forward to walk up these 113 steps all by myself. The escape plan of Bunbury was pure crap, just like I expected…totally forgot again, that he's the only one of us able to make himself invisible, the clown…at least, one of the lasers got him too."

Peter laughed at his boss, but felt his responsibility pushing him to ask more important questions. "Mr. Thunderman is hurt?"

"Not gravely."

He carefully pulled his pants up to reveal a swollen ankle and several cuts on his leg. Hissing in pain as he touched them, he earned a compassionate glance from his servant.

"Why do we have to have 113 steps…!?"

"The master wanted it like this. 13 would be a good number because of its villain tradition and his symbolism for imperfection, like the…-"

" Yeah, yeah. I'm not interested anymore in what I thought was a great idea a year ago! Even though I'm impressed how well you have in mind what I'm telling you…"

He patted the man on the shoulder.

"Let's face it." Max turned to the stairs, but stopped at their bottom.

"Do you want me to carry you, sir?"

Max shook his head eagerly. "No, of course not. That would look ridiculous."

"I just remembered that night of your bachelor party…"

A mocking smirk had appeared on Peter's face, while the other started to redden slightly.

"I told you, we never, _ever_ talk about that again!" Max whispered angrily, but luckily he didn't feel awkward for long tanks to the noisy interruption which came down from the first floor.

"DADDY!"

"Heyyy, girls!"

His two little daughters, seven and four years old, were running into his open arms, hugging him tightly. Whenever he was greeted like this by them both, Max felt his own body relax. It was like there was a permanent tension inside him when he was separated from them, like something important was missing. Stroking his hands through the brown and black curls while holding the fragile hands of his baby's, his world was complete, fulfilled with nothing but happiness and love.

"Daddy, where have you been, mommy was worried for you…" Ellie, his oldest daughter looked at him expectantly, while Dorothy kept launching herself at her father, enjoying being held by him.

"I'm sorry, cutie, but I had to do important stuff…let's not talk about it now. Let's get upstairs and visit mommy, okay?"

The girls cheered in agreement and they slowly made their way to the rooms. Max had a hard time not showing his pain while not only fighting with every step, but also his balance, carrying his younger child in his arms.

The most people would have pitied the young father in this situation, but…

"Ha! Look at you! Danced all night like a maniac, didn't you?"

"Good to see you too, Colosso", Max answered through his teeth while the older man watched him patiently.

He had of course aged over the years, but thanks to his long time in transformation, he didn't look near the age he really was, still wearing his original costume sometimes.

"Yes, this time I actually thought you wouldn't come back anymore…I was so close of taking over this place. And finally change that awful wallpaper of your's."

He laughed, but Max had observed Ellie's scared look at the mention of him leaving without a return.

"What a nonsense, I always come back home. Where else should I go?"

He spoke loudly and with emphasis to make his point as clear as possible, glad to see his daughter's face relax.

"I was just joking around, you know me, Max…" Colosso himself also had understood the situation by now, but he knew his friend wasn't too mad about it.

"Instead of being so funny…hint, hint, no one is laughing…could you please help me here…"

"All right, all right." Grateful Max passed Dorothy over to his arms, making her shriek out in discomfort.

"Noooo…"

Colosso held her safe in his arms. "I wanna be with daddy!"

Tears welled up in her little eyes and Max knew she was on the verge of crying.

"Don't cry, Dori, uncle Colosso just is carrying you upstairs and then I'll take you again, okay?"

The little girl stared at him, still unconvinced if this was a good occasion to cry or not.

"Hey, Dorothy, sweetheart, look up, we got a new awesome picture of your daddy on the wall up there, you wanna see it?" the older man tried to distract her and earned an appreciating smile from Max in process.

"Yes." she answered, her pout slowly fading as Colosso allowed her to sit on his shoulders.

"Thanks buddy, I owe you one."

"No problem." A smirk appeared on Colosso's face.

"Who you really not owe one is the painter of your portrait. Although I think about sending him some flowers. Everytime I see it…it's just epical funny.

 **Upstairs, the living room:**

"Max!" As soon as he had entered, his wife came over to him, embracing him as well.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't come down, but I was so busy in the kitchen…so I sent down the children…"

"It's okay. The main thing is: I'm back now."

He reached out for a gentle kiss.

"Did anything happen this week?"

She shook her head, but then stopped as she suddenly remembered. "Two calls. One from…"- she stopped to make sure no one was listening- "Kaysan."

A hint of concern was visible in her eyes, but Max seemed completely calm.

"What did he say?"

"That you should meet him in person. That he won't give you any information anymore, because he has his doubts about whom to trust…but he didn't treat us or anything."

Max nodded.

"That's good. I will go. Won't be easy to convince him, but let's say, he isn't so smart as he might think he is."

She affectionately stroked his cheek.

"Just be careful."

He smiled hoping to not cause her too much stress in the next time.

"I promise. Who else called…?"

But before she could answer his daughters accompanied by Colosso came running into the room.

"Daddy, you have to see your portrait!" Ellie exclaimed, grabbing his hand to guide him to the door. A bit startled he followed them outside.

"Don't worry, you look great. Completely handsome. " his wife whispered into his ear and as he finally saw it, he had to agree.

"Colosso, why did you have to scare me like this!?"

The older man rolled his eyes at him.

"You may have forgotten it…but we're a super villains! Viva la evil!"

"Viva la evil!" Dorothy and Ellie shouted with glee while Max observed the picture still thinking about his last mission and future plans.

The portray showed him in a sitting pose, his legs firmly on the ground while his arms were behind his head. He was dressed in black completely, a dark cape around his shoulders which was nearly touching his hips. A red bracelet could be seen on his right wrist what had the same flame like colour as the ring on his left hand, which had the letter "T" on it. Watching the details, there was also another weapon in the portray, nearly hidden for the audience: On the left side, on the bottom of his neck, a circle around the letter "C" was visible, like a tattoo or something comparable.

"Saw this?" Max said, showing it to Colosso who smiled widely.

"Even if it's fake, I really appreciate the gesture. It's quite cool…and it shows your loyalty to your mentor."

The older man seemed really moved and Max couldn't remember him saying something so nice in a long period of time.

"No big deal, Colosso. Without you I wouldn't be where I am right now…But I do look good in the picture…how is my motto again? Conquer…-"

"Conquer the world and look good doing it." Ellie recited bored making everybody laugh.

"Maybe I need a new motto…"

 **Later, in the kitchen:**

"Max?"

Max was sitting on the coach, falling asleep now and then as he was so exhausted. Therefore he didn't hear his wife's calls.

"Maximus!?"

Still no answer.

"Octavious?"

"Don't call me that!"

Fine, so he was awake.

"I'm not happy with you."

A pause. "Why's that?" Max tried to look as innocently as possible.

"Peter told me about your injury and you didn't say a thing!"

She sat down next to him, pulling up his trousers and revealing his wounds.

"Oh my. How did this happen?"

Max knew he had to tell her the truth and started to explain while she was cleaning him up.

"We- Bunbury, Thomas, Nairo and myself- were just leaving the company as we got trapped in the wrong corridor. We kinda lost the map when we were climbing in…well, they shot us with some lasers and some got me as you see…"

His wife listened with attention, unable to not worry even though those things already had happened.

"Someone threw a chair after me and…I couldn't block it in time and fell down some stairs. That was when I sprained my ankle."

Max had a strange look on his face telling that last incident and immediately he felt a warm hand on his back.

"Baby…it's all right. I'm sure nobody has noticed your…little problem." She gently rubbed his back in a circular motion. "Maybe, it gets better if you stop being afraid of…"

"I'm not afraid."

He knew he sounded childish, but he couldn't help it. Knowing him long enough, she decided to not go further with it, changing the subject.

"Does it hurt, love?"

"No. Just a little bit." Max quickly weighted his possibilities.

"A kiss would sure make it better."

"You're so spoiled."

"Thank you loads."

He leaned over to her with expectation, but the second time today they were interrupted.

"Eehh…kissing…" Ellie made a face seeing her parents on the couch.

"What do you want, Elizabeth?"

The smart girl approached them quickly, sitting down on the sofa as well. "It's a super villain question."

"Your turn!" His wife got up smirking, leaving him alone with his daughter.

He sighed as he wasn't quite in the mood, but whatever. "What do you want to know?"

"Well...I discussed with Amy who has the coolest dad…you know her father is "The Shadow"…"

"Of course I know him! And?"

"You're the best, I know it!"

He smiled at how his daughter got so ambitious defending his pride.

"But there's one thing which I couldn't tell her…"

She was getting more nervous by second, fiddling with the sleeves of her jacket while Max waited patiently.

"All the great super villains have their own background story. Why they became evil, how they chose to become what they are now…it's in every book or movie I have watched. They tell it right before the showdown."

Max couldn't help, but laugh quickly stopping as he realized it was making Ellie angry.

"What's so funny?!"

"Nothing honey…it's just a bit complicated."

The girls eyes got wide at this, excitement visible on her little face.

"So you have a background story? A really cool one? Tell me, tell me!"

"Yeah…sweety…"

He really didn't know if telling her was the best idea…she was probably too young to understand all of it anyway. Glancing toward the kitchen door, he spotted his wife standing there and nodding in agreement.

"Better tell her, before she hears any rumours" she advised earning a bright smile from her daughter.

Signing in defeat, Max motioned his daughter to sit next to him, wondering how fast his children grew up.

"Well..you know, when I was about 18 years old…"

"Daddy!?"

"What?"

She looked at him sceptically. "That's not quite how they tell it in the movies…"

Okay,…more drama?

"You're right."

Ellie smiled curling up on the sofa next to her father.

"It was a long, long, long time ago in Hiddenville…maybe not so long ago, because I'm still young!...when your father, a teenager of 18 years was confronted with a sudden decision that would change his life forever! He would live dangerous adventures, but finally he managed to get what he wanted. Behold…"

A smirk appeared on Max's face.

"…my background story!"

Actually it wasn't so funny at all…


	2. The rise and fall of a superhero

Background Story

Okay, you waited way too long for this! But here it finally comes. Thanks to all the reviewers and patient readers out there!

 **Chapter 2: The rise and fall of a superhero**

 _Behold…" A smirk appeared on Max's face. "…my background story!"_

It was a hot sunny day in Hiddenville and the house with the little garden still looked the same as it had few years ago, when the new family had moved in.

But still…a lot had changed.

Meanwhile the oldest daughter had already left for university, her twin brother still lived with his parents, attending the last year of high school. A year he really was looking forward to. Playing gigs with his band, go dancing and especially spending time with his girlfriend was going to be great fun and also a pretty good distraction from decisions he knew he was going to have to take very soon.

Yes…things were getting critically lately, because Max's dream of attending supervillain u maybe would finally come true. He had talked to Dark Mayhem about it and even mastered some of his special challenges for next big step now was to get in contact with young members of the villain league to continue his education. So what should hold him back?

"Colosso, I'm back!" Max rushed down the stairs as quickly as he could manage eager to hear if there were any news from his latest test results.

"Max, I'm sorry buddy…but still no answer" the bunny told him not without compassion as he saw his student's disappointed face.

"What's taking them so long!?"

"Villains aren't much interested in fixed dates, Max."

"But don't they know how long I've been waiting? How hard I've worked for this? Do they want to make me suffer!?"

His mentor just raised an eyebrow.

"All right, okay, I get it!"

Sinking into his chair he pulled his cellphone out of his pocket, quickly dialing a number.

"Oh my…are you calling your sister again?" Colosso gave him a disapproving glance which he ignored.

"Yes, why shouldn't I? If I'm not there to annoy her then who's gonna do that?"

It wasn't like he was missing her. A lot.

"You talk more than you have ever before", the villain added, but this time he didn't have the chance to mock about their little conversations. The number wasn't available. "Strange…today is her free day" Max said in thought staring at the phone, "probably there is an emergency".

And he was right, there was.

 ** _About an hour later:_**

"Dad!?"

Max just had entered the living room and the first thing he saw was his mother crying and his dad screaming into his phone.

"Mom…" He sat down next to Barb, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Mommy what happened?" But it was his dad who answered.

"Your sister was hurt gravely during training at superhero-u, Max. I'm on my way to get her."

The teen had to gulp at this, feeling sick to his stomach as he realized what his father just had told him.

"What happened!?" he asked again, his mind completely blank seeing his dad being afraid as well. Dad is never afraid, he thought, dad always can save us, no?

"There's no time for explanations!" Hank bawled at him, impatiently hitting the buttons of his cellphone again. "Why are those idiots not calling me back! I don't know to which hospital Phoebe was brought!"

Max couldn't calm his mother down. He couldn't even calm down himself!

"Dad, take me with you! Please dad!"

"Can you just shut..-"

"DAD, SHE'S MY TWINSISTER! I'M COMING EVEN IF YOU DON'T WANT ME TO!"

He didn't know why he was screaming or why his dad suddenly pulled him in a bone crushing hug promising to take him to Metroburg. Later he wouldn't even remember the ride in the Thundervan who drove them with super speed to the hospital. How fast had they been? Why hadn't he thrown up like when he had been a little boy? All those questions he would ask himself way later, but most of them remained without an answer.

There was just one thing he would never forget:

They had arrived at the entrance to the hospital and the doors had been closed. Well…they had been about to open the doors, if with Max's heatbreath, Hank's super strenght or both hadn't been decided yet, but sure was that nothing would stop them. But before any of those kind of plans became reality, a doctor had arrived.

At least they had thought he was one, wearing a white gown and all while leading them into a little room with a serious attitude. His answeres concerning Phoebe were short and unsatisfying, but there was no one else to help them.

Then when they all had been alone in said room, the man had suddenly ripper the gown off, revealing himself as…

"You're from the hero league!" Barb exclaimed in shock, but the undercover agent immediately told them to be quiet.

"I'm here to confide you as family members to something which no one, especially not the hero league wants anyone to know at this moment. Do you swear to not tell anybody…?"–

"What. Happened. To. My. Daughter." Hank's voice was cold as ice as he grabbed a metal bowl from the table, breaking it in two halfs.

"Mr. Thunderman…I understand your…"

"We swear!" Max quickly shouted not willing to lose another second to this discussion. He was a villain and could promise and swear as much he needed to do so. And break those as well of course.

"Your daughter was attacked during a hero mission."

"Bastards, you told me she had a training accident!" Hank interrupted him, but forced himself quiet to let the man finish who cleared his throat before deal with his order.

"During this fight the girl lost all her superpowers."

After that Max didn't hear anything anymore. Just this swishing sound in his ears…in his head…

 ** _At the hospital, Phoebe's room:_**

"Phoebe…but how!?" Barb had sat down next to her daughter, still not believing the whole power losing story. How was this even possible?!

"It just did…like…" Her voice broke and she put her face in her hands to hide the tears which came floating free again.

"Sweety…I…"

But actually Barb didn't know what to say or how to fix this.

"I have to go outside for a moment." Hank suddenly said, anger and shock mixing in a never seen way on his face as he left the room leaving his daughter's and the other's alone. It didn't take long before they heard some glass shatter proving just how desperate and mad their father was.

"Max…" Phoebe lifted her head searching for her brother's eyes wondering what he was thinking. Their powers…their connection…

"Max…please say something!"

Just slowly he came over sitting down carefully while she got more tensed every second.

He was so strangely calm as if this all wasn't real…just a stupid dream. A simple nightmare. Finally he looked at her.

"Say something…" she whispered again, hurt and fear hearable in her voice as he saw how serious and disappointed he looked. Why was he disappointed? At her?

"Max?"

He suddenly had grabbed his head with both is hands letting out something between a moan and a sob…but no. He needed to be strong for her.

"Oh my twins, my beautiful twins…" For Barb it was just too much to take to see her two babies cry.

"Sorry" Max said quickly putting his hands down, but realized his voice was still higher than usual. "Phoebe…" he took her hands in his, not really finding the words to comfort her somehow.

"Nothing has changed between us , okay? ..You're still awesome and…"

Tears kept finding their way down her cheeks and later he would have been told that he also had been crying without realizing it.

"Wh-what am I gonna do!?"

He reached out and pulled her into a tight embrace letting her cry on his shoulder while he softly stroked her hair.

"Not give up", he whispered."Never give up."

And he wanted to say more. How he felt like this was his fault, how he couldn't have protected her. Which brother could let this happen to his sister? God, how much he wished he would be lying there right now instead of her…because he didn't deserve his powers.

Somehow in this very moment, he didn't even want his superpowers anymore.

 ** _2 days later, at the Thunderman's home in Hiddenville:_**

Max was lying on his bed and staring at the ceiling counting down the seconds as he felt how his eyes were getting more tired by second. But he had to stay awake…see if Phoebe needed something.

"Max?"

"Yes?"

It wasn't the first attempt of Colosso to get him to take action, but he had been strong enough to resist all temptations so far.

"You should really check you mail and see if you got any news from the villain league, ya know?"

Silence.

"If you don't answer them they might as well take someone else."

"I don't care."

The bunny shook his head in expiration, feeling more worried then he liked to admit. "You can't lie there forever Max."

"I know."

"This isn't going to help your sister if…"

"I know, okay?" he burst out not really in the mood for a discussion. "But if she isn't leaving her room or the house I told her I also wouldn't. I need to do this to make her realize what she is doing to herself. She has to break out of her…depressive mood."

And if someone was going to achieve this, it was him, he thought feeling a tiny bit proud. On the other hand there was really nothing funny about the situation.

"Then please _eat_ something Max."

Just like the mention of it had caused it, Max felt his stomach growl and he quickly pressed a hand on it to calm it down.

"Later" he mumbled not really knowing why he was doing that.

But Colosso seemed to be able to see through his actions pretty well.

"Don't you play that game with me Max. I know you want to punish yourself for what you for a stupid empathic reason think is your fault, but starving yourself isn't heroic, you know?"

The boy groaned clenching his fists, but a part of him had to admit his mentor probably had a point.

"What for an example should that be for your sister? Didn't you told her to go on? To never give up?"

"Yes…but…" The boy really didn't think Colosso would understand this. Nobody could.

"Me and Phoebe are…connected somehow. I feel her suffering and it…it drives me insane! She is my soulmate!"

Max couldn't recall he had ever admitted that before but suddenly it just came out naturally. "It feels wrong to be happy for me if she isn't. It feels unfair… and mean."

The bunny let out an annoyed sound not believing how his student lost all control of his emotions so quickly.

"Trying to kill me, are you? A villain? You sound like a two year old girl! Just listen to your whining...!"

"I'm not whining!"

"Yes, you are!"

"I'm not!"

"Yes you are!"

"I'M NOT WHINING!" Max didn't understand why his friend was provoking him like this. Couldn't he tell he was having a bad day?

"Good…you're not whinig, all right. Tell me…why are you not whining?"

As Colosso's voice changed within a second from loud and accusing to calm and fierce without the tiniest effort, it startled the boy for a moment.

"W-what?"

"I-said-why-are-you-not-whining? ANSWER ME!"

Well…and know he was back to screaming again making the other flinch.

"I…I don't think that Phoebe's life is over just because she lost her powers…" he started slowly, still glaring at the ceiling and moving his legs impatiently.

"Very good. Go on."

"I still believe that she…that we can find a way out of this. There has to be a way!"

He suddenly wasn't tired anymore; his eyes wide open as he spoke the last sentence with determination.

"There sure is way?"

"Yes!" He nodded to show his friend he meant it. He still wasn't completely out of his lethargic state he had been caught in for the last days, but his mentor could tell the flame was back.

"You got a way now…but that means someone needs to go it."

There was a short pause before Max answered, his voice not quite as firm as before. "But how Colosso? I don't know how!"

He had been thinking about it all night, but there was no solution. Wait there was, but he couldn't find it.

"But if the answer doesn't come to you…"

"You have to come to the answer!" Max finished finally standing up from his bed, stretching himself while slowly feeling how hungry he actually was. He really would need to grab some food before starting his research all over again.

"That's my Max" Colosso praised him proudly,but still there was some doubt left in the scientist's mind.

"Colosso?"

"Yes?"

"What if…what if I fail?"

"Will you give up?"

"No! How could I give up on Phoebs?"

The bunny smiled at him once more "Then you won't."

"B-but..-"

"You won't."

Max stared at him feeling grateful of all sudden that there was someone who always believed in him.

"I won't." he repeated heading to the stairs an up to the kitchen where the breakfast his mother had prepared had been waiting for him all day.

 ** _About two weeks later:_**

"This is Nora…"

The girl held her smartphone in front of her face waving to an imaginary audience which quickly attired the attention of her brother Billy.

"Nora, what are you doing? Who are you talking to?"

"I'm making a documentary on our family…so Chloe can watch it later and doesn't have to ask question on how everything turned upside down here" she explained quickly before focusing again on filming. "This is your brother Billy!"

"Hi! HI! HIIII!"

"That's enough Billy."

"Sorry."

Nora just shook her head at him, hoping he would understand the seriousness of their situation.

"And even if it's hard to believe, he's the less strange of your brothers now!" She tried to smile, but there was something sad in her expression.

"Since Phoebs lost her powers, she just isn't the same anymore…but we still hope to cheer her up again! Well…oh yes, dad told us to not use our powers in front of her, because it would make her sad. It's really annoying…"

Pausing she suddenly shot a laser at her brother, seeming relieved afterwards.

"Ouch!?"

"Sorry, but I just can't control it all the time! I need to use it!"

Nodding Billy disappeared, probably having decided that his sister had a point.

"Max doesn't though. He hasn't used his powers once since the…incident. At least I think so. Oh there he comes…" Turning the camera around, Nora called out for her older sibling who was standing in the kitchen.

"Max! Say hello to the camera, will ya?"

The teenager lifted his head, but his eyes didn't really seem to focus. He looked completely overtired, a fierce sparkle in his eyes and even his once so important hairstyle was a disaster.

"Do you wanna come over?" his sister asked him shyly, but he just shook his head. He had more important things to do.

Letting out a moan in frustration, she put her phone down and went over. This had to stop!

"Max, please stop working for a moment and listen!" She pleadingly placed her hands on his. "What are you writing anyway?"

Her brother was scribbling with a pen on an old newspaper, but didn't seem happy with his progression.

"Gonna find a way to help her…" he mumbled.

"You gotta sleep! And spend time with her! I know it's hard, because you're her twin, but she can be happy without…-"

"I'm so close" he interrupted her like so many times this week. "So close."

"So close to a breakdown" she mumbled under her breath trying to think of something to convince him to take a break.

"What if we all go to the zoo tomorrow? You both love animals!"

Her brother suddenly froze, lifting up the paper as if it was the answer to the whole world's unspoke truth.

"Max!?"

He ripped it into halfs and threw them in the air, trembling a bit as he did so.

"Max, shall I get mom and dad? Are you listening?"

"Nora, do you think the Hiddenville hospital is doing many MRTs?"

Her eyes widened not sure about what to answer.

"Yeah…sure they do!" he answered his own question, smiling a bit before pulling a new paper out of his bag pack.

"Okay…" Nora opened her smartphone once more. "Your other brother, Chloe, has eventually lost his mind...

But …we're still hoping!"

 _ **At the same evening, the living room:**_

Hank Thunderman didn't know what he had expected from the hero league…compassion? Apologies? He really wanted an apology for what had happened to his daughter! But they had other problems to worry about and he was too tired of getting angry with the twins all the time to even bother about the Super President's decisions anymore. Or so he had thought.

"What exactly does that mean!?"

Hank, Barb and Max were all present in the living room as the call reached them and it probably was better like this. "I surely have overheard something…"

The father couldn't hide the indignation in his voice taking a step closer to the screen.

"You know, I usually don't make jokes, Thunderman!"

The woman indeed looked serious as always, getting impatient at the man's reaction.

"But this is not about you anyway. Max! Come over, I want to talk to you!"

The boy and his mother both were startled by this request, lifting their head simultaneously.

"Why?" Barb put her hand on her son's shoulder protectively, having a strange feeling about this. What could the hero league want from her baby?

Handing the cup of hot chocolate she had made him back to her, Max slowly rose from his seat, gently freeing himself from her grip.

"What's wrong?" he asked carefully, sensing the sudden tension in the room as well.

"I'll ask right away, because we can't wait any longer."

Then why didn't she do it earlier, he thought, exchanging a short glance with his father.

"The absence of your sister has left her team in a complicated situation and a free spot at the university as well. We have great superheroes with even greater powers in our faculty, but hers were exceptional. As the attack happened she was the one to protect her other teammates bravely and another mission was planned for the next month."

She does seem a bit sorry, Max thought, but maybe she was just sorry because she couldn't use Phoebs for her own ways anymore.

"So we came to the decision that it would be the best, if you, Max, would take her place and finish all tasks for her."

"WHAT!?" His dad was shouting before he could even react, but although the gift of speech had left the teen, he could feel his mouth getting dry.

"No way!" Barb exclaimed as well, immediately hugging him close to her side. "Non of my children…" but she stopped realizing what she had been about to say.

"FIRST: Just because my daughter is indisposed at the moment, that doesn't mean her career is over! She'll come back to university once she gets better!"

Hank's face was dangerously red by now, forgetting all about his respectful behaviour towards the president which he always had thought of as so important.

"AND SECOND: How I am going to expose my son to the dangers of a superhero mission if this criminal is still outside?!"

Max didn't know how he felt about all this…but it seemed absolutely wrong. He wasn't his sister who no one could ever replace! And he wasn't a superhero neither although still no one believed him when he talked about being a villain.

"Thunderman, calm down!" The woman's voice was controlled, but her eyes piercing."We are professionals who know exactly how delicate our situation is! All the security options our society has in store will be activated and the villain caught as soon as possible!"

"So…it's a villain? How do you know that?" Max asked curious about everything he could learn about this story.

"He has stolen your sister's powers. Of course he must be a villain!"

That's not what I meant, he thought disappointed, but decided to leave the subject from now.

"What's that for a mission you were talking about?"

"Max! You can't be serious!" Barb looked at her husband asking for help. "He's not going!"

"The mission is top secret and can't be explained at this moment. When you will come and get into the team officially we will give you first instructions…"

"I'm not doing it."

Hank nodded acknowledging at his son's decision. It would be bad for everyone and especially his sister if he left, especially under such circumstances.

Suddenly a smile appeared on Evelyn's face.

"There's no reason to be afraid, Max. The villain is not interested in your powers as he already got those. Got it?"

Her smile was sickening sweet and the boy couldn't believe he really thought he was such an egoistic coward that after his own security was guaranteed, he would easily accept her offer?

Yes, he maybe was egoistic! But not…entirely…ah Phoebe and her being right all the time…heartless.

"No, it's no option…wait, the villain now got her powers!?"

"Ahem…yes, we assume that." The Super President seemed uncomfortable all of a sudden.

"But…-"

"Does that mean he wants to steal other superheroes powers as well!?" Max asked alarmed, seeing his suspicion confirmed as the woman paled slightly at his words.

"We don't…this is non of your business Max! Better think about how you could help the hero community!"

"Oh, this is our business!" Barb shot back.

"Yeah, what about our children!? Are Billy, Nora and…-"

"Super President Kickbutt out!"

The screen disappeared leaving the questions unanswered and the Thundermans speechless for several moments. "Max, go to your room, okay?"

"Dad, if I can…-"

"Please Max."

Realizing that this wasn't the time for a discussion the boy left, hoping Colosso still was awake. Ah, he was fooling no one. Of course he was waiting for him.

 **End of chapter 2**

I hoped you liked it and I promise you won't wait this long anymore for the next chapter! Leave a little review if you want to =)


	3. Fearing The Impossible

Guys, this story lives; it's just complicated to write chapter is a little more emotional, next one will have much more action. The twins have my heart. (Still no Max/Phoebe, just sibling love). Enjoy!

 **Fearing The Impossible**

 _"Where are you! Phoebe!"_

 _She tried to turn around, make out her friends in the darkness._

 _"Phoebe! Help me!"_

 _"I'm coming Ivonne!" she shouted, running towards the voice. The strange fog which had suddenly appeared out of nowhere wouldn't go a way. It sure felt like a trap._

 _"Ivonne, what's happening!?"_

 _But this time she got an answer no more. Where did the others go? And who was their attacker!?  
_

 _Phoebe closed her eyes, listening carefully into the night._

 _Then it hit her. She was alone!_

 _"Show yourself!"_

 _Still no answer._

 _"Where are you!?"_

 _Nothing. Not a sound. This kind of silence for sure wasn't natural._

 _Phoebe tried to make something out in the fog ,but it was impossible and was it just her imagination or did the air slowly start to get thinner around her!?_

 _Caught. By an invisible enemy._

 _Don't panic, she told herself. Don't panic._

 _The fog was heavy on her eyes and...heavy was her body..._

 _"No..." She couldn't faint now! She couldn't!_

"No..." Phoebe Thunderman mumbled in her sleep, turning from one side to another, cold sweat forming on her forehead. "Not this time..."

 **In Max's lair:**

"And this mysterious villain now…got her powers!?" Colosso knew Max wasn't lying, but he just couldn't believe what he was hearing there.

"Yes. That's what she said."

The bunny chuckled, making Max roll his eyes.

"Not funny." He went over to his board adding a few more details to the mind map which was developing day by day.

"Now all this makes even less sense." His eyes wandered to the "How?" section of his research.

"Let's rethink again: A superhero can't really lose his powers if he or her was born with them. The source of mine and Phoebe's is in our brain…so they are just blocked, simple is that!" He gripped the bliking devices which his mom had put around his ankle more than once from his table. "Like those are doing."

"With electromagnetism?" Colosso asked also deep in thought.

"Maybe. But probably much stronger." Max answered throwing his pen in the air and catching it again. "So how you gonna find out?"

The boy stared at the ceiling for a few seconds before giving a careful answer. "I thought about doing a brain scan or something, but…I doubt it's possible to convince a doctor to cooperate…"

"Make him cooperate" his mentor threw in coldly, but the boy shook his head.

"Even if it would work out, it's Phoebe who we need to be exanimated…" And he couldn't really kidnap his own sister!

Well maybe…no! He massaged his temples with his fingertips, sensing how the lack of sleep made his thought all blurry.

"If there was another hero with telekinetic power, ice or fire breath…." he continued slowly. "Then I could ask him or her about it…"

"But there's none?"

"No!" Max groaned. "You won't believe all the silly superpowers that exist, but our power seem really rare…"

Colosso didn't answer anymore and as he checked the time on his watch, the teen decided that he probably should sleep instead of trying to force out a solution from nowhere. Letting himself sink in the cushions, Max fell into slumber almost immediately, but the dream he was having was rather strange...

 _Where am I, Max thought while finding himself standing in a large white room with just a minimum of furniture in it._

 _"_ _Dad!" he exclaimed seeing his father entering as well._

 _"_ _What are you doing here? Where are we?"_

 _His dad looked at him strangely. "What do you mean? In Metroburg of course!"_

 _"…What!?"_

 _Startled Max run to one of the windows and indeed: the skyscrapers, the illuminated main tower, the eastern bridge…everything was there!_

 _"_ _Why are we back?!"_

 _The room suddenly felt really small, but as he tried to open the windows, he found them locked._

 _"_ _What are you talking about Max? We never left!"_

 _Turning around on his heels at this statement, Max's mouth fell open. The living room wasn't empty anymore! It now looked just like it had when they had lived here a few years ago…"I…I.." he felt at a loss of words, when he heard footsteps coming running into the room._

 _"_ _Wait for me, Billy!" The girl laughed as he chased her brother around while their father quickly got out of the way._

 _"Billy…Nora…" he mumbled, a part of him very relieved that at least something seemed logical here._

 _"_ _Max!" his siblings both exclaimed and to his complete surprised pulled him into a hug. "Guys…!?" What for god's sake was going on?!_

 _"_ _We're so happy you're here, Max!" Nora said smiling. "You finally woke up!"_

 _Max stared at this father in confusion and he gave him a reassuring nod. "Don't crowd him so much, he's probably still not fully recovered." Hank came closer and put a hand on Max's shoulder. "You were pretty sick my son. High fever and…everything." The way he said it made it obvious that he wasn't telling the whole truth._

 _"_ _But let's forget about the dark days and continue to live!"_

 _"_ _Dad, you're talking strange…"_

 _Feeling Nora reaching out for his hand again, a shiver went down his spine. This all was **more** than strange. _

_"_ _Ah…I'm sorry. Just get well, so that we can continue your hero training!" Hank said happily. "Right Max?"_

 _His head was spinning and he didn't understand a thing. Was he going crazy!?_

 _"_ _Where's mom?" Max asked, slightly panicked. Maybe his mother knew more..._

 _"_ _In the bedroom."_

 _"_ _I'll…I'll be back in a minute!" he said faking a grin while quickly backing away from the others. It all had to be a stupid joke, there was no other explanation._

 _"_ _Hello?" Barb's voice answered him from inside as he knocked on the door. "Come in."_

 _His mother was sitting on the bed, looking like always._

 _"_ _Max! My baby, come here!" He approached her slowly, fearing she would act as weird as her husband._

 _"_ _Mommy…I don't get why we are in Metroburg…" The teen sat down next to her while she eyed him carefully._

 _"_ _Really? Where else should we be, honey?"_

 _"_ _In…in Hiddenville of course! You gave up your career, so we kids could have a normal life away from all this…" he gestured widely with his hands. "And now…I mean me and Phoebe were at school there, we had friends and everything."_

 _Barb nodded now and then, while giving him a compassionate look._

 _"_ _Mom, I'm not crazy! I swear! If you would just…here! Ask Colosso!" Max suddenly had spotted the bunny on the other side of the room, sitting in a small cage._

 _"_ _Ask whom?"_

 _"_ _Dr. Colosso! Tell her I'm right!" His voice sounded desperate by now, but sure his mentor would help him._

 _"_ _Son, dear, bunnies can't talk…" Barb said worriedly and sadly the transformed villain really didn't answer._

 _"_ _Why…why are you…" The boy buried his face in his hands, hearing his mom's soft voice again._

 _"_ _You're just confused Max. Go to sleep…"_

 _"_ _I'm not confused!" he shouted. "I wanna talk to Phoebe!"_

 _Barb shook her head slowly, then lifted her hand to feel for a fever. "Who's Phoebe?"_

 _Max felt dizzy of all sudden. "My twin sister of course!"_

 _A flash of emotion appeared on his mother's face, but it was gone all too soon. Abruptly Barb stood up._

 _"_ _Mom!?"_

 _"_ _Max, be calm and try to relax, I'll get your father. You're definitively not well if you now imagine to have a twin…"_

 _He wanted to say something, but she had already left._

 _"_ _My whole family…" he whispered to himself. "They all…" Quickly he got up as well, silently making his way to the other door of the room. "I'm going to find Phoebe Colosso! Don't tell them where I am!"_

 _The animal just stared at him, showing no sign of understanding anything at all._

 _"_ _I'll be back…" And with that Max ran down the stairs, reaching the exit breathlessly. At this point he just was scared, even of his own family._

 _Something terrible must have happened to them, he thought while heading to the river. Had someone erased his parents' and even his siblings' mind?_

 _Sitting down on a bench, he gazed at the city which appeared somewhat dark and mysterious without any sunlight. Dark clouds were coming closer from the south and the grey smoke of the nearby factory blurred his sight while he smelled the scent of petrol and burned metal in the air. He had been born here, opened his eyes under the neon lights of the nearby hospital. Reporters had been waiting in front of the door, dad had told them, eager to get a photo of Thunderman's first children._

 _Yes, two of them._

 _The sound of a siren made him look up and soon enough he could make out some cars, speeding towards the hero central. Metroburg was never calm and he loved and hated it equally. Phoebe as well, he knew that._

 _"Where's my sister!?" he whispered again while lifting his gaze to the clouded sky. "Where!?"_

 _"_ _Talking to yourself again, Thunderman!?" A mocking voice startled him from behind and turning around quickly, Max stared into a familiar face._

 _"_ _Mark?"_

 _A tall, but slim boy with dark blond hair stood behind him, wearing a white uniform which gave away his origin. And he wasn't the only one. Three of his friends or fellows were at his side and if Max wasn't tricked by his own memory, they all were old classmates of his. Why hadn't he heard them approaching?_

 _"_ _Look at you…all alone as always, loser!" another boy in a red uniform laughed, while pointing his finger at him._

 _"_ _Shut up!" Max gave back not really in the mood for a confrontation._

 _"_ _Oh, is little Maximus all upset again? Did he get lost…-"_

 _"_ _Shut up!" Max had risen from the bench and just now he realized he also was wearing his superhero costume._

 _Strangely it didn't bother him as much as it should have._

 _"_ _Oh! Woah! We're soooo afraid of you….right Iceman?"_

 _Mark laughed at this comment, while taking a step forward as well. "Your little pranks are out of my league Thunderman!"_

 _The group cheered at this and Max had the strong urge to use his telekinesis and throw them into the river for good._

 _"_ _Just leave, I'm not interested in anyone of you! I don't even remember your stupid names!" This maybe wasn't entirely true, but for him this conversation was over. Sitting down again, he turned his back to the group, crossing his arms in front of his chest._

 _"_ _Oh, he doesn't remember us Jefferson! Well, maybe he remembers this!"_

 _Expecting to be attacked Max hastily turned around again, but he faced words instead of weapons._

 _"_ _Tell me, how's his name?_

 _It's probably quite lame._

 _The son of Thunderman_

 _Has nothing of a plan…"_

 _Max felt his fingers clench hearing the first verse of this "song" they used to insult him with at school. These times were over for good!_

 _"_ _More a zero, not a hero!"_

 _Aiming at Mark with one finger Max tried to get him on the ground, but moving around quickly the boy escaped his grip, a wide grin on his face. "We're not done yet!" he announced and the group continued to sing:_

 _"_ _Look, he's such a shame!_

 _Himself he has to blame!_

 _You're never one of us!-"_

 _Max tripped as without a warning a hand of mud came flying towards his face. He wasn't able to block it in time…_

 _"_ _You're stupid, MAXIMUS!"_

 _Roaring laughter filled his ears while he struggled to get up from the ground. To get revenge. Finally, revenge! Rubbing the dark liquid out of his eyes, he immediately got into fighting position, but…the boys were all gone! "What!" he screamed furious looking around. How was this even possible?!_

 _Trying to spot them somewhere he took a few steps towards the river, but all the streets he could see from here were filled by traffic making it too difficult to find a single person._

 _Did he feel angry or just frustrated? "WHAT HAVE I EVER DONE TO YOU!?" he shouted out into the evening, even though they surely couldn't hear him. It realy felt good to scream, but it also exhausted him further._

 _And yes, it was even getting dark already, he realized, wishing he had something more on than his useless costume. The cold wind made him shiver and he felt more alone than ever before. No Phoebe, no Colosso…just him and the emptiness of the big intimidating city…_

 _"What are you waiting for?" For the second time Max flinched at the sound of a nearby voice. A person in a black hoodie had taken a seat on the bench, bending down now and then to grip a stone and throw it into the river._

 _"Who are you?" Max asked the stranger, but he just motioned the teen to sit down next to him. Max approached him carefully trying to get a glimpse on the person's face, but it was impossible._

 _"Why are you so alone out here Max? Where's your sister?"_

 _"Why do you know my n…-you know Phoebe!?" Max couldn't care less that it was more than wrong to talk to some shady character in a lonely area. This man may was the only chance he had to ever find his sister again!_

 _"I do." The stranger stared straight forward, his voice calm, but also tired._

 _"Then tell me where she is!" Max didn't want to sound so demanding, but he feared the other would leave as suddenly as he had appeared._

 _And he wanted to find Phoebe. Now, right now!_

 _"You're the only one who hasn't forgotten her Max, as long as you remember she will live…"_

 _The teen felt ice cold at these words, making him imagine the worst. "Is she still…here?" he whispered not daring to speak out what he was thinking. The stranger kept silence for a few seconds, playing with another stone in his hand. Eventually he threw this one in the river as well making large circles appear on the surface of the water._

 _"Maybe." He answered quietly. "Or maybe not."_

 _"No…" Max mumbled, getting up from the bench with a jump. "All this is wrong…and…AND YOU'RE A LIAR!" he screamed ready to grip th_ e o _ther and reveal his true identity._

 _"You're angry, I understand. But what happened to your sister was…"_

 _"Probably YOU were the one who did it!" Max knew what he was doing was illogical, but he needed someone to take the blame._

 _He couldn't take all the blame himself anymore._

 _"I'm not and would I lie to you?" he answered, not losing his calm at all._

 _"How can I know? I don't know who you are!"_

 _"No, you really don't."_

 _Was this man making fun of him!? "I'll find out!" And using all his force Max gripped the stranger's shoulders to turn him around. He wouldn't be tricked any longer and being nice had never been his strength._

 _Apropos strength…his opponent seemed quite strong indeed giving him a hard time to make him cooperate._

"MAX!"

 _Who was this again!?_

"MAX! I GOT IT!"

 _Suddenly he couldn't move anymore, the fog around him blurred his sight…_

"WAKE UP!"

"Noooo….!" Max couldn't hold back a little scream as he found himself in the middle of his bed, the cover on the ground and Colosso shouting at him as if the house was on fire.

"Finally! I thought I need to start our self destruction countdown to get you up!" his mentor told him while the boy just slowly got aware of this surroundings.

They weren't in Metroburg. This was there house in Hiddenville! And Colosso…

He looked at the bunny who stared at him with excitement in his dark eyes, was talking to him again!

"It was all not real…" he whispered relieved climbing out of his bed to pick up the blankets.

"What was not real?"

"The dream…" Max answered while fighting the urge to get his teddy as well. Of course he was being silly, he knew that, but he still was pretty shaken from what he had seen.

"Allright. Back to reality. I FOUND OUT WHO ELSE HAS TELIKINESIS!"

"Do you have to scream!" Max gave back angrily, but then finally the message sunk in. "You did!? Who is it?"

Colosso smiled at him. "Hint one: It's not a hero!"

"So…" the teen needed a moment to sort things out in his mind. "It's a villain!?"

"Bingo!"

Fully awake again, Max waited for his mentor to answer, but Colosso apparently thought he would come to a conclusion himself soon enough.

"Come on fellow, it's not _that_ hard."

"If you say so…." He tried to remember as many villains as possible, but if Colosso said it was obvious…

"Hint two: Max, the answer is in this room!"

The young villain stared at his friend in disbelief: "You have telekinetic powers!? Whaaaat!?"

The bunny rolled his eyes at him. "Of course not, genius!"

"But…"

"IN THE LAIR MAX!"

He looked around everywhere, his eyes meeting the poster on the opposite wall. "DARK MAYHEM!"

"Right!"

"This…this is…" Max stood up and started to walk around his in circles while trying to think of what to do now with this new information. "You're absolutely sure?!"

The villan nodded seriously.

"When I was entering the villain league a friend of him told me. And later I heard it from a member of the villain conceal again. It has to be true."

"If this is the case…" The boy hastily pushed all the papers from his table, letting them fall to the ground without caring. This place was a mess anyway. Searching on his computer for a minute, he eventually found the right data, pressing several buttos at once.

"Max, please tell me you're not doing what I think you're doing?!" Colosso exclaimed horrified as the red lights on Max's communication screen turned on.

"Yes, indeed", his student gave back boldly. "I'm calling Mayhem right now!"

"But it's **3 am** in the morning!"

"Some call it early, I call it evil!"

"And I call you crazy!" Colosso brought out faintly, not believing how stubborn the boy could be sometimes.

 **"Daddy,you really called Mayhem that late!?" Ellie seemed quite impressed and her father smiled at her expression.**

 **"I did."**

 **"Couldn't you wait until the morning?"**

 **Max paused for a moment, carefully taking his daugthers small hands in his. "Some things can wait, Ellie, and some can not. It maybe wasn't smart what I did back there...but it all maybe would have ended differently if I didn't made that call..."**

 **He leaned forward to kiss her , maybe everything would be different now, maybe...**

 **"Dad!"**

 **"What?"**

 **"Go on already! It was just getting interesting!"**

 **"Okay, okay, sorry..."**

 **My, this child was impatient. Well, at least he knew where that came from.**

 **"I called Dark Mayhem and tried to get more information about what happened to my sister...but he wasn't that willing to tell as you can imagine..."**

"Max Thunderman..."

"Mayhem, my evil lord..." Max knew he maybe should have been afraid right now, but he wasn't. He was running on autopilot.

"Seeing you called me at this time, I'm sure you made your decision boy. It took you way too long!"

Wait...what!?

"I don't know what you're talking about..."

The man behind the screen visibly straightened up in his chair at this comment, his eyes glowing dangerously.

"YOU HAVEN'T READ THE MESSAGE!?"

"I haven't..."

Maybe Colosso had been right...what if...

"READ IT NOW!" Mayhem demanded and not seeing any other way, Max opened his message box.

There really was something remarkable adressed to him. From about three days ago.

"Mr. Maximus O. Thunderman, you were accepted into the IVA (International Villain Acedemy) and from now on can call yourself an official member of the YVL (Young Villain League). We expect your confirm as fast as..." Max stopped reading, feeling strangely light headed all of a sudden.

He really made it. He really got in!

Slowly he lifted his gaze, facing the angry supervillain he had once called his role model. They would never take him now.

Never.

Shouldn't he be happy? Afraid? Devastated? All Max could feel was simple shock.

"You don't look happy Thunderman! Not that you should, happiness is an illness if you ask me, but I truly thought you wanted to be a part of the villain community!"

He isn't screaming at me, Max thought confused. Why did he even accept my call!?

"My lord..." How should he start? "Something has occured."

"What has occured?!"

Max looked the other straight in the eyes, trying to look as determinate as possible.

"A villain attacked the superhero community and stole some people's powers." He didn't want to mention Phobe's name. Not if it wasn't necessary.

"You're lying Thunderman. I see it in your face, I hear it in your voice."

Max froze, but didn't back away.

"Go on."

"I find myself in a situation in which I could be the next aim of such an attack, my lord..." The teen gulped, before he continued the sentence.

"I ask you, my evil master, to give me advice in this case...because you own powers which are similar to mine..."

"Similar? Idiot, I own powers you could never dream of!"

"That's not what I meant..."

"And WHY should I help you, Thunderturd!?"

Feeling at a loss of words, Max searched for Colosso's eyes and the bunny held his head up high. The boy knew what that meant. Chin up!

"Me and my powers can be useful for you, my lord, I'm at you service. Without them, I can't serve you."

A moment of silence followed and if he would have been able to get a glimpse behind Mayhem's mask, Max was sure he would have seen a thoughtfull expression.

"You're arrogant like you father, Thunderman. But you're at least smart. Maybe your idiocy has something brave sometimes. You want a deal, you will get it."

Mayhem leaned even closer to the screen, observing every of his movements.

"Don't think I trust you, boy, I never trust anyone. You got potential and you will prove it. Ask your question!"

Max mind was racing, unsure of how to start.

"How can someone gain his telecinetic powers back? If they were...stolen, I mean?"

The villain let out a dark laugh at this, making the other two shiver.

"Idiot. It's impossible to erase such powers. At least until I will find a way to do it. The day your telekinetic power is no more, you will be no more. They can be blocked, that's all. If they are blocked too long, you can reactivate them by animating certain parts of the brain..."

Woah, that's a lot! Max thought happily, quickly making notes on his board.

"I still see no reason in what that villain did to your sister."

Crash. There went the water glass which had been placed on the table, it's content spilling all over the floor.

"WHAT!? You know the one who did it?"

But it wasn't really a question. It was obvious. Damn.

"I maybe do or maybe not."

"Tell me!"

"Show some respect, Thunderman!" Mayhem's voice had gone colder once again.

"Don't forget how small and useless you are compared to me. Don't ever forget that."

Max looked to the ground, breathing heavyly while tryng to stay calm.

"I answered one question. But a deal is a deal. I get something too. You're missed the deadline, you're _out_ of the academy."

He waited a few seconds, liking how the boy didn't breake down, but kept his composure.

"But there aren't many good villains out there today. Not many capaples to please Mayhem with their plans. I want you."

Max closed his eyes while clenching his fists as if in pain.

"You don't want to go. I know it. You're a slave to your weak emotions. You're weak as a little child, Maximus. I can make you invincible."

The boy still didn't look up, feeling actually weakened by the insulting words.

"If you enter the villain u, I will give your more information about your sister's fate. If not...well, no one knows what could happen then..."

"You're an awful person", Max suddenly said, disgust in his voice.

"I thank you for that compliment, boy. Are you in? There's not much time left to decide."

The teen finally lifted his head, revealing how pale he had gotten. But this time Mayhem didn't laugh.

"You look sick, Max. And I'm not surprised. How hard is life if you have emotions, isn't it? How sad..." The supervillain whispered the last words while pressing several buttons on his desk.

"One week, Maximus. Seven whole days to hear you decision."

Then the screen suddenly went black.

And Max broke down on the floor.

What for heaven's sake was he supposed to do now!? Max hugged his knees up to his chest. He couldn't tell anyone anthing about this!

"Max..."Colosso started carefully, "Don't do this right now. Go to sleep and tomorrow we'll find a solution."

The boy said nothing for a while, before nodding slowly in agreement, even though he didn't really believe he would be able to sleep just one second tonight.

Standing up slowly, his gaze fell on the broken glass on the ground.

"I'm going to get some water", he announced, turning to the stairs and walking up as quietly as he could manage. Hopefully his parents were asleep already.

Once in the kitchen he just was about to open the freezer as suddenly a small noise attired his attention. It sounded like...well...Max listened carefully, directing his steps to the living room.

"Hello?"

No, it didn't come from in here, but from aboth.

From...oh no...

"Pheebs!?" Max had taken two steps at once running up the stairs as fast as possible. Yes, the crying was definitively coming from his sister's bed room.

"Phoebe?" Pushing the door open he spoke her name again. Was she having a nightmare? Turning on the lights he carefully approached her bed.

"Max?!"

She hadn't been asleep, at least wasn't anymore, was sitting there in her pyjamas with a slightly scared expression on her tired face.

"Hey sis…" He sat down next to her seeing how Phoebe quickly tried to wipe the tears away from her cheeks.

"Need a tissue?"

She nodded softly, but as Max started to search in the pockets of his jeans he couldn't find one. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

"I'm…sorry." he whispered carefully placing a hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay…" she answered with a thick voice, but a hint of amusement flashed over her face as she realized his faux pas.

"You never have a tissue…I'm just being silly."

"No…" Hug her already! a voice in his head pushed him. Comfort her! Or do you want her to think you don't care? Max felt himself at a loss of words, losing himself in the loving and warm eyes of his sister which were shimmering dark with tears. Say something! The hand in his pocket clenched to a fist and he wondered what for heaven's sake was wrong with him…

Everything, a tiny voice, different from the first one, spoke in his head. You failed your sister, like you always do. What...what if his dream would indeed become true!?

"Max?"

It was the light hint of worry, what drove the boy over the edge. How she was always concerned for him, even now when she was the one suffering. She always knew what to say, what to do…He buried his face in his hands terrified to feel something wet on his cheeks-. Oh please no.

"Oh my gosh Max!" Phoebe had gripped his arm, hindering him from running away. "Max, what's wrong?!"

He couldn't answer, because he didn't know himself. Maybe Mayhem had been right about him being weak. It just hurt so much inside him. "Come here…" Phoebe carefully pulled him into her arms, rubbing his back like it was the most natural thing on earth.

But isn't it? Max thought while trying to wipe the tears away. Shouldn't he be doing this right now? Stupid, stupid, stupid!

"Shhh…" Phoebe felt a bit like joining him, but another part of her was strangely calm. She loved her brother, for sure, and of course she wished nothing more than for him to feel better. But somehow it also felt good to be needed, to be finally needed again and not so useless anymore.

"Max…tell me what's wrong?"

"I'm…I'm a terrible brother…to you" he choked out, sensing her hands on his back. "Y-You deserve s-so much better…"

"That's not true Max, you know that's not true…"

But her twin shook his head with determination. "I failed you…"

Phoebe felt her brother trembling hard under her touch and therefore pulled him closer.

"You never failed me Max. In the end you always got it right…" Her voice sounded soothing, but her words didn't do the job this time.

"Not n-now…I failed you and I…I w-will fail you again…"

A single hard sob escaped his mouth making Phoebe lift her hand to gently caress her twin's head."Stop…stop saying things which aren't true…"

"C-cause that's what I am…"

Phoebe closed her eyes praying for him not to finish the sentence. "Max don't…"

"One big failure."

Even though his words hadn't been intended to hurt her, the superheroine felt a strong sting in her heart hearing them. This was truly bad. Did her brother really think so less of himself?

"Shh…that's not true…"she assured him, rocking him back and forth in the hope to calm him down.

"You are amazing! You're brave, you're strong and so smart!"

Feeling this couldn't really convince him she dared to pull away, placing her hands on his reddened cheeks. "Max, look at me."

Her fingers wiped away some more of the tears while he tried to focus on her voice. "I'm sorry you ever felt this way. You're my brother and what can I say?" Phoebe smiled while cupping his face. "I have many people in my life, many people I like very much: Mom and Dad, Billy, Nora, our little Chloe…Cherry and Link at a time…"

Max blinked feeling his breath stop and his mind going blank.

"But there existed never…never, not a single moment, someone who I loved more than I love you, Max." And sensing it was the right thing to do, she emphasized her words by placing a soft kiss on his forehead.

"You're my twin and you'll be forever."

The boy let out a deep breath, unable to pronounce just how much she had given him with this confession…

"Okay?" she whispered observing him closely.

"Wow...I ...yes…me too…" He wished he would be able to speak as beautifully as his sister just had, able to express she was the most important person in his life as well and how he couldn't be without her…

"Why am I so bad at this…" he mumbled barely audible "…I hope you know that…I…"

But Phoebe indicated him silently to stop. "Max, I know, really. Don't worry…just the way you're looking at me now tells me you feel the same."

"You women are a pure miracle to me…" he answered relieved the tears had finally stopped. She laughed at this and his face lit up as well.

"I miss the university…"she stated suddenly, still smiling but with a ting of sadness in her eyes.

"Oh…I'm sorry" he answered lamely, not sure about how he could cheer her up.

"Yeah…it's especially sad, because there is going to be the first superhero prom this weekend and I already bought a new dress…I dreamed of it since I was a little child, you know? Who would be there, how I would join the hero league and dad taking photos and being so proud of me…"

She stopped as she felt her emotions welling up again, closing her eyes for a moment.

"Pheebs…believe me I understand. And I wish I could…" Max paused there, looking like he just had had an idea.

"Phoebe! What would you say if we throw are party here this weekend? With our friends?"

He had taken her hands in his, getting excited about his plan.

"Really?" She didn't seem completely satisfied, but nevertheless happy with this proposal.

"But…" her eyes unconsciously wandered over her hands and fingertips, "will mom and dad allow it?"

"I'll make them agree, you know me sis…" Max answered grinning even though he knew this indeed wasn't going to be easy.

"Thank you so much!" She hugged him again, all nightmares and issues forgotten for now. "It's nice to have a villain brother sometimes, you know? Because I don't have to do the uncomfortable stuff myself…"

"True." He agreed and without needing to ask first he adjusted his positon, lying down next to her.

"G'night"

"Night"

Phoebe closed her eyes, her hand still touching her brother's wrist. That's when Max felt it, a strange sensation, like a little power surge.

Looking at his twin he wondered what had happened, but she already was asleep. Soon he was as well.

 **End of chapter 3**

It's impossible to seperate the twins. What do you think? Fow did you like this chapter? I'm always gratefull for reviews =)

(oh and Marc Iceman was a character I orginally invented for my story "Almost")


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